NEW YORK: Recently the Arab League’s Arab Peace Initiative follow-up committee endorsed the launch of proximity talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) for the second time in as many months. While the increasing role of the Arab League in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process is largely a result of the current weakness of President Mahmoud Abbas, it places the Arab states in a position to provide a much needed catalyst to advance the peace process and the League’s own languishing peace initiative.
The Palestinians need the help of the Arab states. Abbas has been weakened by the affair over the Goldstone report— whereby, under pressure from the United States, he withdrew support for a UN Human Rights Council vote that could have brought the matter to the General Assembly for further action. He has been hardened by Israel’s refusal to implement a full settlement freeze in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Against this backdrop, Abbas needs the Arab League to provide a cover of support so that he can return to negotiations, albeit indirect ones.
Former Senior Director on the National Security Council for Near East and North African Affairs Elliot Abrams recently argued that engaging the Arab League in such a manner creates “hugely reduced flexibility” in any negotiation effort by essentially tying Abbas’ negotiating ability to Arab League approval. Yet in reality, it also provides the Arab states with a new opportunity to prove that they are prepared to play a real and constructive role and to protect Abbas from criticism by Hamas.
The Arab League is being given a clear choice: to be part of the problem or part of the solution in establishing a more peaceful and secure future for the region. In a recent column for the Arab American Institute, James Zogby wrote that the Arab world is waiting to act and thus wasting “an opportunity to define their concerns and a political path forward”. Hence, the recent Arab League re-endorsement of the indirect negotiation process, stewarded by the United States, is an important start. But they can do much more than endorsing proximity talks. They can utilize their pivotal role to reignite their currently dormant Arab Peace Initiative (API), which promises regional recognition of Israel in the context of a comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace agreement, including Israel and Syria.
They could also work to eliminate negative rhetoric. Statements like that made by the League’s Secretary General Amr Moussa that “we have to study the possibility that the peace process will be a complete failure,” do not do Abbas any favors and further stymie diplomatic efforts. They also weaken his negotiating power and leverage vis-à-vis actors such as Hamas.
Moreover, the Arab League should end and publicly oppose incitement against Israel and the trafficking of weapons to Hamas and Hezbollah, support Abbas’ political track, and promote investment in Prime Minister Salaam Fayyad’s state-building efforts. The League should also be prepared to robustly market the Arab Peace Initiative to Israelis and Americans, in order to demonstrate the seriousness of the gesture. Israelis are suspicious about whether the Arab League is serious about implementing the initiative. Therefore, in their efforts to demonstrate their commitment to such a plan, the Arab League would do well to address both its concrete aspects as well as the emotional dimension of the Israeli public’s perceptions.
Israel too must recognize the opportunity that the Arab Peace Initiative represents. Instead of ignoring it—as it has largely done so far, the Israeli government should listen to the civil society voices that support it, and encourage dialogue to advance the API. While doing so, it has to improve the environment for negotiations by easing current restrictions in the West Bank and ameliorating the humanitarian conditions in the Gaza Strip.
The Obama administration continues to demonstrate its commitment to remaining actively engaged in an effort to achieve a lasting, sustainable two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Now the Arab states, and Israel, have a chance to show that they can indeed play an important role in this effort. In this regard, the Arab League’s support for proximity talks should be just the first step.
David Halperin is the Assistant Director of Israel Policy Forum. Joshua Smilovitz is the Associate Director of Development of Israel Policy Forum. This article was written for the Common Ground News Service (CGNews).
